Mark Twain Taught Me a Lesson

Friday

Feb 22, 2013 at 12:01 AM

By Amy Buckingham

One night recently I watched the end of a program on one of the PBS stations. It was a light travelogue about a western European country. The commentator made his report as he rode a bike, ate in restaurants, and walked with local people chatting about everyday life. At the end of the program he invited the audience to join him again in a future program about another locale. He talked of enjoying travel, seeing new things, taking part in new activities, tasting new food, and spending time with new people. He then said something that surprised me; it wasn't light at all. He told us to remember what Mark Twain said about going new places. He ended with the following quote.

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of people and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Mark Twain

I don't think Twain was saying we all have to go to Spain or some exotic, faraway place. I do think he was saying we would benefit from extending ourselves, though. He reminded me that the more we experience new and different people, activities, ways to do things, environments, and, yes, even food, the easier it is for us to not only accept differences, but to enjoy, appreciate, and truly respect them. In turn, we are kinder. I like Twain's lesson. I wonder what it would be like if all of us followed his advice?

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AMY BUCKINGHAM is an Ionia resident who is passionate about eliminating "us" and "them" language. "It's 'we' in all aspects," she says. "I am doing what I can so that we all can be who we want to be." One of her favorite quotes is "Know that no one is silent though many are not heard – and work to change this."